NATO

Founded in
1949, NATO is a defence organisation with the task to safeguard the freedom and
security of its members through political and military means.

NATO’s
primary task is collective defence, and Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty
states that an armed attack against one member state shall be considered an
attack against them all.

NATO
upholds the capability to fulfil the obligation of mutual assistance. This creates a preventive threshold against
the use of military power and the threat
of it against the Alliance. Each member is required to assist another member
under attack as they see appropriate, including the
military use of force. Furthermore, NATO implements military crisis management
operations and maintains an extensive partnership network.

Based on
the national armed forces and resources of the member countries, NATO’s
capabilities are developed through the common defence planning system, bound by
the common command and control and force structure. NATO provides the
standards, modes of operation and exercises which make military interoperability
possible in multinational operations. NATO’s military structure operates under
the political steering from the member countries.

NATO
consists of 28 member countries, and 21 of these are also members of the
European Union. Montenegro will become the 29th member country when its
accession process is completed in 2017.

NATO provides
a forum for the North American and European countries to discuss common
security challenges and decide on joint action to counter these challenges.

All decision-making in NATO is based on
consensus.

NATO’s
principle decision-making body is the North Atlantic Council (NAC), where each
member country has a permanent ambassadorial level representative. The Council
also regularly meets at the level of ministers of foreign affairs and defence,
and at the summit level with the participation of heads of state and
government.

NATO’s
collective defence is based on the integrated military command structure,
collective defence planning process and exercises. These arrangements ensure
that NATO has the capability to defend its member states if such a need arises.

Since its
establishment, NATO has been a transatlantic value community that ties the
United States of America concretely to the security of Europe. Recent changes
in the security environment further emphasise the significance of transatlantic
cooperation. Mutual solidarity and fairer burden-sharing between members have
become more central in ensuring NATO’s capabilities.

NATO’s
tasks were defined in the strategic concept (2010), which is the highest
political steering document of the Alliance:

(1)
Collective defence

NATO’s core
task is to maintain a credible defence capability to defend against any
aggression or threat of aggression against a member country. Armed conflicts
are prevented by maintaining a credible deterrence.

Changes in
the security environment brought on by Russia’s power politics and the conflict
in Ukraine have highlighted NATO’s commitment to strengthen the collective
defence and deterrence. The Warsaw Summit (2016) continued the adaptation to
the new security environment initiated by the Wales Summit (2014). In Warsaw,
NATO approved the decisions of increasing its forward presence in the eastern
part of the Alliance and enhanced deterrence. In addition to conventional
forces, the broader context of deterrence and defence include nuclear and
missile defence capabilities.

Apart from
defending the territories of allies, collective defence also means preparing
for so-called emerging threats. NATO also emphasises a 360-degree approach in
relation to emerging crises. Growing attention is paid to, for example,
terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber-attacks and
disturbances in energy security. NATO has also started to build a ballistic
missile shield to defend the territories and populations of its member countries.
Attention is also paid to threats emanating from the south. NATO’s objective is
to be able to respond rapidly to emerging security challenges from wherever
they arise, which requires effective and flexible military capabilities.

(2) Crisis
management

NATO has
played an active role in crisis management in line with the principles of the
UN and the UN security Council Resolutions. The premise is a comprehensive
approach which underlines close cooperation with other actors. In addition to
demanding military crisis management which is its strength, NATO prevents
crises and participates in post-crisis stabilisation and rebuilding. After the end of the Cold War, the focus of
NATO’s operational activity was on crisis management operations outside its
region, particularly in the Balkans and Afghanistan. After these extensive
crisis management operations, NATO has further developed the ability to
participate in conflict prevention. Training and exercise activities have
become more central, as has the Defence and Related Security Capacity Building
(DCB) initiative with focus on certain member countries, which supports
stability and conflict prevention.

(3)
Cooperative security

NATO
promotes stability in neighbouring regions and also in a wider context through
a variety of means, such as the Open Door Policy towards new member countries,
various partnerships, and efforts to achieve arms control, disarmament and
non-proliferation agreements. Partnership development is essential to NATO in
being better prepared for complex threats. Cooperation is important with
different countries, but also with other actors. The Warsaw Summit in July 2016
made a decision on enhancing cooperation particularly with the EU. Cooperation
with the EU is important, with the countering of hybrid threats being one
example.

Finland’s
objectives for NATO partnership cooperation

Finland has
an extensive and developing partnership with NATO. The cooperation benefits Finland greatly in
terms of defence policy and the development, maintenance and use of military
capabilities. The partnership cooperation allows Finland to maintain and
develop national defence and capabilities and participate in a variety of NATO
exercises and training operations. The Finnish Government Programme and
national foreign, security and defence policies guide Finland’s NATO
partnership. In accordance with their provisions, Finland conducts sustained
and mutually beneficial cooperation with NATO.

Finland has
conducted partnership cooperation with NATO since 1994 within the framework of
the Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme. Since 1997, Finland has been a member
of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) that consists of NATO and PfP
countries. Since 2015, Finland has participated in the Enhanced Opportunities
(EOP) partnership cooperation. In addition to the Enhanced Opportunities
cooperation, Finland promotes deeper cooperation between NATO, Finland and
Sweden (28+2).

The issue
of security in the Baltic Sea region has received new focus due to Russia’s
power politics. From NATO’s perspective, the position of Finland and Sweden is
emphasised due to geographic location, a shared security environment and mutual
security interests. NATO has therefore conducted dialogue with Finland and
Sweden on issues concerning the security of the Baltic Sea region. From
Finland’s point of view, the cooperation with NATO reinforces security in the
Baltic Sea region and strengthens Finland’s defence capability. It develops the
capabilities and the interoperability of the Defence Forces. It is important
for Finland to continue and develop both regular political dialogue and
practical cooperation with NATO. Emphasis is on the development of a shared
situational awareness with NATO.

Important
partnership tools for Finland include the Planning and Review Process (PARP)
that supports the development of capabilities and the evaluation programme
Operational Capabilities Concept (OCC). Multinational interoperability
cooperation is conducted in many areas. Furthermore, Finland participates in
NATO’s so-called Smart Defence projects. New cooperation opportunities arise in
addressing hybrid threats, where Finland aims to promote cooperation between
the EU and NATO. New cooperation fields also include research, development and
training activities in cyber security.

Military
interoperability developed within the NATO framework supports Finland’s
participation in military crisis management. The development of military
interoperability also enhances Finland’s technical capacity to receive
international assistance in a situation where Finland faces a crisis and
assistance would be offered. Finland has participated in nearly all crisis
management operations conducted by NATO. (IFOR, later SFOR, KFOR, ISAF,
Resolute Support). Finland develops its preparedness and capabilities by
participating in NATO exercises and hosts multinational exercises. Finland also
participates in the rapid-response activities of the NATO Response Force (NRF),
which allows the Defence Forces to participate in challenging international
exercises. Finland is also represented in NATO structures and cooperates with
NATO agencies and centres of excellence.
Cooperation in training is also close.